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Tag: The Country Cook

Hey friends! It’s me Brandie again from The Country Cook! I love sharing simple, everyday recipes for the busy cook. Today I would love to share this Caprese Skillet Cornbread recipe with y’all!

Insalata Caprese (in Italian it means: Salad of Capri) is a simple Italian salad of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. A bit of olive oil is drizzled over the top of the whole salad. It is that recipe that inspired this recipe for Caprese Skillet Cornbread!

We’re making it simple by using my favorite Martha White® Cotton Country™ Buttermilk Cornbread Mix. It is super delicious and tastes just like homemade, so it’s my go-to when making skillet cornbread. And I’m making it all in my 10 1/2-inch Lodge® Cast Iron skillet. Cooking in a pre-heated skillet gives me those crispy edges that I love on savory cornbread. But you can definitely use a 9×9 baking dish for this recipe (no pre-heating necessary).

I’m also using sun-dried tomatoes. The tomatoes are kept soaking in flavorful olive oil to keep them pliable and delicious. It takes this cornbread over the top! So let’s get to this recipe!

Instructions:Preheat oven to 450° F. Coat a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet with a generous layer of vegetable or olive oil. When oven is finished preheating, place the skillet into the oven to warm up (for about 6-8 minutes).

While skillet is warming up, prepare the cornbread mix. In a large bowl, combine both pouches of cornbread mix with water and egg. Finely chop basil and sun-dried tomatoes. And cut mozzarella balls in half.

There are two things in this world that seem to trigger your memory faster than any super computer and they are music and food. Do you ever have those moments when you get in the car and the radio comes on and it’s a song from your childhood or your wedding song and you just have to stop yourself for a minute to listen and let yourself be taken back in time, into your head and into those memories? Food can be the same way. You can smell something and it takes you back to your Momma’s kitchen or waking up to your Grandpa’s famous flapjacks and fresh maple syrup. It almost makes your heart swell because the memories are so sweet. Then, when you get a bite of something familiar, it just sends you over the moon and you almost feel like a kid again. There’s always a small part of us, I think, that’s always trying to recapture those moments of long ago.

One of my favorite desserts as a kid was fruit cocktail. Yep, straight from the can. My Mom would just put the cans into the fridge to get cold so they’d be ready for us to dig into. Such a simple little thing but I will still grab a can of fruit cocktail every now and then just so I can eat it cold right from the fridge like I did as a kid. So, it stands to reason that I love fruit desserts. Ambrosia, like many classic recipes, has lots of variations, but this one here is my favorite since it’s what I grew up with. It is made a lot around the holidays too because of the red and green colors and the whipped topping and coconut makes it look like snow. But this version is so versatile you can serve it anytime of the year. It’s a lighter, sweet way to end a heavier, wintertime meal. Plus, it’s one that can be whipped up very quickly for you to take to any party or for a quick dessert!